DESCRIPTION: (From application). This proposal is a resubmission of a continuation of an ongoing program of graduate training in the epidemiology of aging, to prepare individuals for independent research and teaching careers in this area. The proposed program will admit two pre- and two postdoctoral trainees who will work towards an advanced degree in epidemiology from either the Harvard or Boston University Schools of Public Health. Training will include the following components: 1) Formal course work leading to a master's or doctoral degree in public health or epidemiology, with particular emphasis on epidemiology, biostatistics and aging. 2) A required new course on the epidemiology of aging; a required seminar session on issues in the responsible conduct of research specifically addressing concerns unique to the study of elderly persons; and participation in a seminar series on substantive areas relevant to the epidemiology of aging, as well as methodologic issue, related to aging research. 3) Research activities, in which each trainee will collaborate with a preceptor or preceptors on a number of projects to gain experience in the conception, design, conduct and analysis of a research project(s) leading to publication in peer-reviewed journals. Research data bases available to the trainees include a community based cohort study of risk factors for morbidity, mortality and institutionalization in a free-living elderly population; a unique Medicaid-Medicare-Pharmacy Assistance for the Aged pharmacoepidemiologic data base on drug usage, physician encounters, hospitalization, and long-term care in an elderly population; the VA Normative Aging Study; and large-scale clinical trials and cohort studies evaluating risk factors for and treatment of age-related outcomes. The goal of this training program is to facilitate the development of promising young academicians with commitment to the epidemiology of aging, into independent researchers and teachers.